


Drink, Drink, Confess

by littlev123



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Multi, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 04:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15900897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlev123/pseuds/littlev123
Summary: Part of my tattoo artist/florist/piercer AU, but it can be read by itself.Ash isn’t drunk enough for this. He and Shorter are dating (which Eiji suspects but doesn’t have confirmation for yet), and they’re both crushing hardcore on Eiji. Cue the trio at a bar. Shorter’s tearing up the dance floor, Eiji shows a protective streak, and Ash needs to stop staringbut dammit it's not fair how attractive they are.





	Drink, Drink, Confess

**Author's Note:**

> so, like. there are more scenes that happen before this fic, and i’ll still upload them if people want, but i had to get this out of my system

“You here alone?”

Ash ignored the man’s inquiry in favor of observing the dance floor at the other side of the bar. Among the throng of swinging limbs and gyrating hips, Shorter shamelessly paired with men and women alike. The tall man couldn’t dance worth a damn, but neither could most of the people there, so it worked out.

Sitting at a small round table, the blond wiped his thumb across the condensation on his glass. Eiji would be back soon; he left a minute ago to order a third drink for Ash. Since Eiji claimed he couldn’t hold his alcohol whatsoever and wanted there to be a sober person in the trio, he hadn’t touched any drinks tonight.

“I can buy you a drink, and we could chat for a bit...?”

Ash sighed. Could the guy not take a hint? The other’s speech was a little unevenly paced, so he must be tipsy. At least he wasn’t being outright pushy, he supposed.

“I’m with someone.”

“Oh, okay!” He gave an awkward laugh. “My bad. I hope you have a good night.”

That went easily enough. Content, Ash picked up his glass and took a sip while the man turned away.

But then the stranger’s foot caught on a chair leg. Stumbling, his hands flailed and one landed on Ash’s shoulder for balance.

“I’m so sorry,” he slurred. He had to lean harder on him to regain his footing.

Ash bristled at the proximity, but, understanding the situation, he made sure the other wouldn’t fall over before plucking off the sweaty hand. “Be more careful.”

This time the man managed to successfully straighten and turn—until a drink splashed onto his red shirt. To Ash’s surprise, the holder of said drink was Eiji, whose face showed no remorse.

“You should try to dry off in the bathroom,” Eiji recommended. The steel in his tone made Ash’s mouth go dry, but the stranger seemed not to notice.

“Right, it’s no problem,” he reassured before stumbling off.

After watching him go, Eiji’s ire flipped over into worry. “Are you okay? Did he do anything? I couldn’t tell what was going on, but I just saw how close he was to you and—”

“I’m okay, I promise,” Ash quickly reassured. His face felt flushed as he glanced up at the other; had he drank more than he thought? “He wasn’t going to try anything. He just fell, and I was the closest thing to grab.”

Eiji placed a hand on his chest as he sighed with relief. “Thank god. You have no idea how scared I was when I came back to see him holding onto you.”

“Trust me, if I thought he was skeezy, I would have decked him. I appreciate the thought though.” He finished his drink and took the one Eiji brought. He wasn’t about to waste what was left of it.

“I guess Shorter’s still doing fine?” He sat down across from Ash and twisted around to look at the dance floor.

Instead of answering, he watched the multicolor lights catch on black hair and flash over smooth skin. Thanks to Eiji’s short sleeved shirt, the lean muscles of his arms were blessedly visible, as was a portion of his collarbone. His dark brown eyes, always so warm, found Shorter, and his mouth turned into a relaxed smile. 

_Fuck, he’s beautiful._

Catching himself staring, Ash hurriedly switched his gaze to Shorter. Sweat glistened on the Chinese male’s temples, chest, and strong jaw line. His unpredictable, often off-beat dancing was done with such confidence that it was downright obscene. And with that infectious grin showing off a tongue piercing, it was no wonder the other dancers flocked to him.

_Shit. Why do you have to be so hot too, you fucker. Looking at you isn't helping me concentrate at all._

When Eiji turned his attention back to Ash, the blond downed the last of his drink in one gulp and slammed the glass down. He wasn’t drunk enough for this.

“Ash?”

“Eiji. I have something I need to say.”

“Okay…?”

He took a deep breath. His pulse was racing, and he knew how flushed his cheeks must be. Due to the alcohol in his system, the doubts screaming at him to stop were muddled. However, they were still very much there, and he could sense his courage wilting.

But hey, if he did it now, he could always pass it off as a drunken spiel.

Clinging onto that idea, he forced himself to look at Eiji. It took every sliver of strength he had to keep his syllables steady.

“Let’s go on a date.”

A beat of shocked silence. Then red crept up the older male’s face, and his mouth opened and closed a couple times before a dumbstruck “ehhhhhhhh?!” made its way out.

Ash couldn’t bring himself to repeat it, so he waited. And by waited, he meant picked out an ice cube from his cup, popped it in his mouth, and chewed on it in the hope that the crunching would drown out the beating of his heart.

“You want to go…on a date?” Eiji finally managed to say.

The blond wisely finished chewing and swallowed to make sure his dumb ass didn’t do anything worse, like choking on an ice cube.

Eiji mumbled something breathlessly to himself in Japanese, and then he cleared his throat. When he spoke this time, he went back to English. His nervousness thickened his accent. “Ash, I…drunk, you are, maybe you’re just saying things?”

“I’m not.” He frowned. “Not just saying things, I mean. Am I drunk? Possibly. Definitely tipsy. But I need you to believe me; I really wanted to ask you that sober, too.”

“What about Shorter?”

“What about him? He’d be going on the date with us.”

“The three of us? Together?”

“Yeah.” He mentally braced himself. This was the clincher. Going with one person was one thing; going with two was completely another.

Hope jumped in his chest when the other slumped with relief.

“That makes things so much better. I wanted you both.” Realizing what he said, Eiji’s blush returned full force. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll accept right now! We should wait. And if you still want to in the morning, and Shorter does too…” He glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck. “…I’ll say yes.”

Giddiness overwhelmed Ash, and his cheeks hurt from how hard he smiled. “We’ll take you on the best damn date you’ve ever had, Eiji. And if it’s not, I’ll tattoo whatever you want on Shorter’s ass.”

Eiji laughed. “You know, for a while, I wasn’t sure if you two were a couple.”

“That’s understandable. I don’t like PDA, and we’re kinda casual right now.”

“Ash, Eiji!”

“Speak of the devil,” Ash said as Shorter ambled up to the table.

“How are mah favorite boys doin’?” Shorter asked. He lifted the bottom of his shirt and used it to wipe sweat from his face. Ash caught Eiji staring at the swath of exposed stomach and then hastily looking away. Not that the blond could say anything; he had looked, too.

“Put your shirt down, Shorter,” Ash fondly ordered.

“How much longer do you want to stay?” Eiji asked.

Shorter clumsily ran a hand through his drooping hair. “Gimme, like, ten minutes. Twenty? Eh, whenever I drop.”

“Don’t go too hard. I’m not carrying your giant ass out of here,” Ash warned, but they all knew it was an empty threat.

“Pfff, you like my ass too much to me leave…leave me behind,” Shorter retorted. 

Eiji rose from his seat and pulled out a chair. “Here, take a quick break. I’ll get you a water.”

“So sweet, Eeeeiji.” He suddenly wrapped his arms around Eiji, who released a surprised “oof.” The smaller male looked to Ash for help, but all the blond did was grin and shrug helplessly.

Thankfully, once Eiji patted Shorter on the back, Shorter let him go and plopped into the chair. Eiji gave him strict instructions to stay there until he returned.

“Boy do I have a surprise for you,” Ash commented once Eiji left.

“Ohhh? Tell me, babe,” Shorter insisted.

Propping his elbow on the table, he rested his chin in his hand. “…I’ll tell you in the morning. I promise.”


End file.
